Lily Allen has released a new album titled ‘West End Girl’, which is a raw soundtrack of a marriage breakdown, touching on infidelity, open relationships and all the complex experiences that come with the breakdown of a marriage.
Allen’s lyrics encapsulate how difficult a relationship breakdown can feel. The emotional impact of separation can be overwhelming and can cloud decision-making on the practical elements. Minds tend to jump straight to divorce and courtrooms, but in Scotland, we tend to try to resolve financial and child-related aspects of separation by agreement before proceeding with divorce. We also have a clear legal framework designed to help navigate the financial reality of a separation.
You do not need a court order to be separated in Scotland, and most separating couples will enter into a ‘Separation Agreement’ regulating their financial, property and child arrangements before proceeding with divorce, unless there are compelling reasons to go to court (such as the need for urgent orders relating to children, immediate financial support or protective orders). It is very important that an order for divorce is not granted before financial arrangements have been agreed upon or have been put in the hands of the Court.
When it comes to divorce, in Scotland, there must be an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage before a court can be asked to grant a divorce order. The ‘Irretrievable breakdown’ can be established in four ways: adultery, unreasonable behaviour, no cohabitation for one year with the other spouse’s express consent or no cohabitation for two years, where consent is not required. Satisfactory evidence must be provided to the court to enable the irretrievable breakdown to be established. The two ‘fault grounds’ (adultery and unreasonable behaviour) can be more difficult to prove. In order to prove adultery, evidence of sexual intercourse, such as written admissions from the spouse and third party (paramour), a private investigator’s report and/or compelling circumstantial evidence must be produced. Evidence for unreasonable behaviour divorce generally consists of sworn witness statements describing incidents, medical evidence (if available) and contemporaneous documents such as emails and texts.
If there are no children under 16 and financial matters have been sorted, then the efficient and cost-effective Simplified Divorce Procedure route can be utilised. If there are children under 16 and/or financial matters to resolve, then an Ordinary Court action would be required for divorce.
Allen’s album is an honest and heartfelt representation of a relationship breakdown. Separating for any reason can be hugely stressful and overwhelming, so it is important that you seek legal advice as early as possible. With the right guidance, you can move forward with clarity and confidence.
